The European Union's top diplomat warned Wednesday the ongoing coronavirus outbreak could cause Iran or Venezuela to "collapse without our support," the Washington Examiner reports.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell told his colleagues in a recent bulletin the EU "should ensure" Iran and Venezuela "have access to IMF assistance. And with Iran, we need to make sure that legitimate humanitarian trade can proceed despite U.S. sanctions."

President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed economic sanctions on the country following his election.

"We should also remember that none of the other problems that we focused on before the corona crisis [have] gone away," Borrell wrote. "In fact, they may get worse. COVID-19 may well deepen some of the longer running conflicts in the neighborhood."

Behnam Ben Taleblu, an expert on Iran with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Examiner that Iran's banning Doctors Without Borders from working in the country "signals that the regime doesn't think corona will bring about their end," adding, "It's grossly irresponsible, but it seems like the regime thinks that the Western influence of Doctors Without Borders is more dangerous than anyone dying from lack of hospital care."

An unnamed Congressional Republican aide said, "The regime's incompetence and political suppression of coronavirus news highlights yet again that the regime is unwilling and unable to respond to the needs of the Iranian people."

They also said Borrell's comments were "a transparent attempt by the Europeans to do an end-run around our sanctions, because to them the Iranians are the good guys and Trump is the bad guy."